The Pantagraph is a daily newspaper that serves Bloomington–Normal , Illinois , along with 60 communities and eight counties in the Central Illinois area. Its headquarters are in Bloomington and it is owned by Lee Enterprises . The name is derived from the Greek words "panta" and "grapho," which has a combined meaning of "write all things."
41-573: Bloomington businessman Jesse W. Fell founded the newspaper on January 14, 1837, making it among the oldest still-operating businesses in McLean County , though the business lapsed during 1839-1845. W. O. Davis and his heirs owned the Pantagraph for many years until selling the paper to Chronicle Publishing Company in 1980. The paper was purchased by Pulitzer from Chronicle Publishing Company in 1999; Lee Enterprises bought Pulitzer in 2005. The paper
82-613: A Fell Street. Towanda, Illinois Towanda is a village in McLean County , Illinois , United States . The population was 431 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area . The village was named for Towanda in Bradford County, Pennsylvania . The name means "burial ground" in Nanticoke , an Algonquian language. The land on which Towanda stands
123-567: A committee to inquire into what had happened to the jail. Perhaps the most exciting event in the town's history was the attack on the Buena Vista Tavern. A group of local women took exception to the amount of money their menfolk were spending on whiskey. They assembled at the hardware store where they were issued hatchets. They then marched into the Buena Vista smashing bottles, threatening the barman, and hurling whatever they could find through
164-658: A fruit orchard in Adams County , returned to McLean County and work as an agent for the former Alton & Springfield Railroad to secure the right of way through McLean County. He helped found the town of Towanda and with his brother founded the town of Dwight . and later defeated an effort to have the railroad bypass his extensive land holdings in Pontiac. He sold lots in Decatur, Lexington , Clinton, El Paso , Joliet , and LeRoy and in 1855 he purchased timber land and began operation
205-546: A grain silo complex, local library, and Towanda Elementary School of McLean County Unit District Number 5. Each July 3, Towanda has a spaghetti supper in the evening and a street dance at night. People from Towanda and surrounding areas come out for the festivities. On July 4, a parade goes through Towanda and is considered a big event in McLean County. Individuals and families from around Bloomington, Normal, Hudson, Lexington and elsewhere come out for it. Additionally, there
246-437: A household in the village was $ 41,705, and the median income for a family was $ 51,875. Males had a median income of $ 33,750 versus $ 30,078 for females. The per capita income for the village was $ 18,702, and 5.3% of the population and only 2.6% of families had an annual income below the federal poverty line. Of the total number of people living in poverty, 8.1% were under the age of 18, and 3.4% were age 65 or older. Towanda has
287-630: A large part of the downtown area burned, and in 1917 the original railroad station went up in flames. However, there was also progress. In 1901, telephone service began, and in 1937 Main Street was paved. Still, Towanda remained in the shadow of its larger neighbors to the south, Normal and Bloomington, and was always smaller than Lexington, the next town north on the stagecoach road and the Chicago and Alton Railroad line, which generally paralleled each other between Chicago and Springfield . Trains were essential to
328-580: A sawmill near Ullin in southern Illinois. In 1854 Fell arranged for the Chicago and Mississippi Railroad to cross the Illinois Central Railroad north of Bloomington where he had founded the town of North Bloomington. In 1860, Illinois State Normal University relocated there from a site in downtown Bloomington, resulting in the town being renamed Normal in 1865. Fell was an enthusiastic arborist who developed an extensive park around his home, and
369-658: A slight change in the survey so it would pass through the Livingston County town of Pontiac, where he had interests, rather than the rival town of Richmond. Shortly after Towanda was laid out, most of the land was back in the hands of the railroad's land agent, English-born Charles Roadnight (1814-?). Roadnight built the first warehouse in Towanda; he settled in Bloomington , had a farm in Dwight, and in 1858 later became treasurer of what
410-513: Is a flea market and the two parks where vendors come from all around the United States to sell their antiques and other items. The most famous person from Towanda was singer-musician-TV personality Bonnie Lou (born Mary Joan Kath), who gained international popularity in the 1950s with rock and roll and country hits. She became a popular TV host and performer in Cincinnati until her retirement in
451-479: Is a rest stop and parking area for catfish and bass fishing in the pond. The stretch of the parkway where the exhibit was erected is a subset of the overall Towanda Trail, which includes a three-flagpole garden on the northeast corner of Jefferson Street and Route 66, several picnic areas along the length of the trail, scattered birdhouses, and intermittent landscaped areas extending from the Money Creek Bridge to
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#1732854626721492-641: The U.S. Census Bureau , Towanda has a total area of 0.74 square miles (1.92 km ), all land. A tributary of Money Creek flows to the northeast through the village. Money Creek is a northwest-flowing tributary of the Mackinaw River , part of the Illinois River watershed. The village gets 37 inches (940 mm) of rain per year. The U.S. average is 37. Snowfall is 24 inches (610 mm). The average U.S. city gets 25 inches (640 mm) of snow per year. The number of days with any measurable precipitation in
533-458: The 1970s onward. In 1955, U.S. Route 66 was locally widened to four lanes, as a partially divided highway with a grass median between the northbound and southbound lanes along much of its stretch. The former southbound lanes of Route 66 are now long disused, whereas the northbound roadbed is still in use as a two-lane local highway and the current path of Historic U.S. Route 66 in Illinois, now known as
574-511: The Historic Route 66 Trail (as seen on Google Maps), on a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) stretch of the old disused Route 66 roadway between the south end of Towanda and a point about 3 miles (5 km) northeast, where Interstate 55 swings east to meet up with and once again closely parallel Historic Route 66. The parkway, an ongoing project that preserved the Money Creek Bridge north of town on Route 66 and begins about 750 feet (230 m) northeast of
615-568: The Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, a designated National Scenic Byway . When in 1977 the construction of Interstate 55 detoured U.S. Route 66 in a gradual curve around the northwest side of Towanda, a 3 + 1 ⁄ 4 -mile section of southbound Route 66 was closed off to motorized traffic and abandoned. Between 1998 and 2000, a not-for-profit student and community project created the Towanda Historic Route 66 Parkway, also known as
656-478: The bridge, also includes an outdoor educational exhibit on the history of Route 66 called "Historic Route 66: A Geographic Journey" that details the path of Route 66 through all eight states. This exhibit extends from the intersection of Historic Route 66 and Jefferson Street near the I-55 interchange to a point at the southern tip of town just past an unnamed pond off Historic Route 66 (at 40.557656, -88.908876), where there
697-890: The business would move two blocks east to a new home at 205 N. Main St., just across from the McLean County Museum of History in the heart of downtown Bloomington. The Pantagraph was a news partner of WEEK-TV , which is situated in East Peoria, Illinois . Its sister publications include The Woodford County Journal in Eureka , Herald & Review in Decatur and Journal Gazette & Times-Courier in Mattoon . 40°28′48″N 88°59′36″W / 40.47996200°N 88.99335500°W / 40.47996200; -88.99335500 Jesse W. Fell Jesse W. Fell (November 10, 1808 – February 25, 1887)
738-438: The development of the town, but traffic was never heavy; in 1887, only one southbound and one northbound freight stopped at Towanda. Passenger service stopped altogether in the 1940s. Most travel had long since been replaced by automobile and truck traffic along the roads that paralleled the Chicago and Alton rail line: State Bond Route 4 during the 1910s, U.S. Route 66 from 1926 through the early 1970s, and Interstate 55 from
779-458: The effect was to have the commercial establishments look across the street toward the tracks. This was a common design in newly established towns along the Chicago and Alton Railroad and may be found, with slight variations, in places like Dwight, Gardner, Odell and McLean; Fell's town of Normal, established at the same time as Towanda, was to have had exactly the same arrangement; except that in Normal,
820-483: The first floor was used for stores and the second as a meeting room. It burned about 1900. In 1873–1874, wooden sidewalks were being built, followed by brick sidewalks in 1891 and concrete walkways in 1916. The town was officially incorporated in 1870. The first jail was built in the North Park and replaced at least once; the structure can not have been very substantial because in 1901 the town fathers were forced to appoint
861-410: The homes are wooden I-cottages: single story, or story-and-a-half, wood frame dwellings with a symmetrical façade. There are some modest two-story structures. Along the railroad, long rail corn crib may be seen. The simple board-and-batten railroad station is clearly visible. Perhaps the most striking structure is a stone tank house topped with a windmill. Towanda has been plagued with fires. In 1905,
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#1732854626721902-503: The land. Larchwood was established at the center of their holdings. Fell frequently visited the site and in May 1873 personally supervised the planting of some 100,000 saplings and tree cuttings. The town did not grow as rapidly as expected and in 1881 the development was sold to an Englishman Richard Sykes. There still is a small grove of larchwood trees growing in the Larchwood park. Larchwood has
943-421: The original street paralleling the railroad quickly lost its importance to the reverse side of the block. This standard town plan often left town designers with odd triangular pieces of land, where the diagonal street met with other streets which were aligned north–south or east–west. These triangles are often still in public hands. In the case of Towanda, Fell gave each of two triangular areas, one on either side of
984-489: The project's website as a result. Towanda is in central McLean County, 6 miles (10 km) northeast of Normal and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Bloomington , the McLean county seat . Interstate 55 crosses the northwest corner of the village, with access from Exit 171. I-55 leads northeast 124 miles (200 km) to Chicago and southwest past Normal and Bloomington 75 miles (121 km) to Springfield . According to
1025-729: The south end of the pond. The trail and parkway exhibit, now a popular local tourist stop on Historic Route 66, continue to be improved on an irregular basis, and the progress of improvements is detailed on the project website. In 2006, the Towanda Area Historical Society partnered with the Towanda District Library to obtain a digital imaging grant from the Illinois State Library for a project entitled "Capturing Towanda's Past for Eternity." An exceptional collection of scanned documents and images were added to
1066-420: The tavern windows. Each of the women was fined one dollar. A series of photographs taken in the 1870s give a striking view of early Towanda town. They show a town crisscrossed with fences and looking rather like the set for a western movie. Cattle and hogs were driven into town at night and penned before shipping on the railroad. Houses are carefully fenced to protect gardens from stray livestock. The majority of
1107-422: The town of Towanda and filed the plat on December 7, 1854. Fell, a native of Chester County in southeastern Pennsylvania , was a widely known land dealer in central Illinois who played a major role in founding many towns in the region, including Clinton , Dwight , Normal , and Pontiac , and who was the driving force behind the establishment of the school that would become Illinois State University . Holder
1148-435: The tracks, to the town. On the original deed they were given the name "plaza", and both have always served the city as parks. Alex Warren built the first residence in the new town and James Alexander the first warehouse. These were soon followed by Wesley Bishop's grocery and Frank Henderson's dry goods store. The largest building was a two-story structure built by Charles Roadnight, which was 50 by 100 feet (15 by 30 m);
1189-514: The village is 104. On average, there are 190 sunny days per year in Towanda. The July high is around 87 degrees. The January low is 16. Towanda-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Illinois state average. It is 114% greater than the overall U.S. average. On May 5, 1977, there was an F4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 22.2 miles (35.7 km) away from the Towanda village center that injured 2 people and caused between $ 500,000 and $ 5,000,000 in damages. On July 7, 2004, there
1230-506: The village was 98.58% White , 0.41% African American , 0.41% from other races , and 0.61% from two or more races. Also, 0.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 199 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a woman whose husband did not live with her, and 26.6% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.0% had someone living alone who
1271-466: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.91. In the village, the age distribution of the population showed 24.1% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males. The median income for
The Pantagraph - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-435: Was a partner in many of Fell's projects. In the summer of 1869 Fell traveled to northwestern Iowa and selected a tract of about forty sections, more than 25,000 acres (100 km ) of land. Fell wrote: "I have never beheld such a large body of surpassingly beautiful prairie as is here to be found. There is absolutely no waste of land, and scarce a quarter of a section not affording an admirable building site." Holder then entered
1353-515: Was an American businessman and landowner. He was instrumental in the founding of Illinois State University as well as Normal , Pontiac , Clinton , Towanda , Dwight , DeWitt County and Livingston County in Central Illinois . He was also the founder of the newspaper The Pantagraph . As a close friend of Abraham Lincoln , it was Fell who urged him to challenge his opponent, Stephen A. Douglas , to their famous series of debates . Fell
1394-404: Was an F4 tornado 23.9 miles (38.5 km) away from the village center that injured 3 people. As of the census of 2000, there were 493 people, 199 households, and 146 families residing in the village. The population density was 709.0 inhabitants per square mile (273.7/km ). There were 207 housing units at an average density of 114.2 inhabitants/km (297.7 inhabitants/mi ). The racial makeup of
1435-411: Was born in rural southeastern Chester County, Pennsylvania , to Quaker parents of modest means, Rebecca (Roman) and Jesse Fell. He attended local Friends schools as well as a private boy's academy and briefly taught in local public schools before migrating to Ohio to study law in 1828. In 1831 Fell moved to Illinois, opening Bloomington's first law offices and beginning his career in real estate. Fell
1476-677: Was especially active during the Illinois land boom in the late 1830s; with James Allin, Fell co-founded the town of Clinton, Illinois , and worked to create DeWitt County arranging for his brother, Kersey H. Fell, to become the clerk responsible for organizing the new county. He established Livingston County , which he named, and backed the founders of Pontiac, Illinois , which he also named. Fell invested in lands in Bloomington , Chicago , Milwaukee , Danville , and other places in central and eastern Illinois. Fell also founded Bloomington's first newspaper, The Bloomington Observer and McLean County Advocate in 1837 and, after several years running
1517-553: Was first entered by Charles Badeau who had graduated from Wesleyan University , Middletown, Connecticut , in 1840, and was employed as the assistant to the chief engineer of what was then the Alton and Springfield Railroad. Because in Illinois at that time it was illegal for railroads or their officials to establish new towns, much of the land was then transferred to two McLean County real estate developers, Jesse W. Fell (1808 – 1887) and Charles W. Holder (1819 - 1900). These two men laid out
1558-438: Was known for planting trees in his real estate holdings. Fell died at his home in Normal, Illinois, on February 25, 1887. The Normal Town Council declared that through his "untiring and disinterested efforts" he had secured the crossing of the two railroads and they passed a resolution stating that, "Normal without Jesse Fell is comparatively like a family without a father." He was nationally known for his love of trees. Holder
1599-502: Was linked with Fell in many of his town founding schemes including Normal, Illinois, and Larchwood in Lyon County, Iowa ; the McLean County town of Holder is named in his honor. Fell's association with the railroad goes back to the time when it was surveyed. On at least two occasions he was able to alter the path of the railroad to suit his own interests: organizing a bend in the road so it would pass through his town of Normal and making
1640-521: Was originally called The Bloomington Observer and McLean County Advocate . Through the years, the newspaper went through several name changes, such as The Whig , The Intelligencer , The Daily Pantagraph , The Pantagraph in 1985, just Pantagraph in 2006, changing back to The Pantagraph in 2008. From 1935 to 2018, the newspaper operated from a 65,000-square-foot building at 301 W. Washington St. Then-Publisher Julie Bechtel announced in November 2017 that
1681-403: Was then the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Central Illinois towns of the 1830s, such as Bloomington, Lexington, Leroy and Pontiac, were usually built around a central square. In contrast, most towns of the 1850s, like Towanda, were oriented toward the railroad tracks. In the case of Towanda a diagonal main street was established parallel to the railroad, with the main building lots on only one side;